ELI5 loading/playing games on 3DS without ban or brick

[Lacaillex]

My little sister is obsessed with Pokemon and wants to play the older games. I want to make that happen for her but I'm not familiar with the options and she's also very into online functions with her other games. Is there anything I can do other than outright buying Crystal etc that won't risk her getting banned or bricking her device? I tried looking online but most posts are yeeeears old (As are tutorials) and some people swear by one method while another says it causes X problem. Help a girl out?

 

[lone_wolf323]

My little sister is obsessed with Pokemon and wants to play the older games. I want to make that happen for her but I'm not familiar with the options and she's also very into online functions with her other games. Is there anything I can do other than outright buying Crystal etc that won't risk her getting banned or bricking her device? I tried looking online but most posts are yeeeears old (As are tutorials) and some people swear by one method while another says it causes X problem. Help a girl out?

pokemon crystal? There aint been any ban or brick risk in years now. No, having a pirated copy of that game wont get you banned, and no, there is no brick risk.

 

[Lacaillex]

pokemon crystal? There aint been any ban or brick risk in years now. No, having a pirated copy of that game wont get you banned, and no, there is no brick risk.

I don't have access to her system to mod it (we're in different states) so I was looking into modifying SD cards or R4 cards etc but I'm not familiar with the options and types. Some people are saying going that route will brick your device and some that it works perfect. So figured I would just ask for input here. But glad to hear that wouldn't be a problem!

 

[Kwyjor]

she's also very into online functions with her other games.

I hope she's aware that all 3DS online functionality is shutting down forever in a couple of months? (Well, except for Pokemon Bank.)

Is there anything I can do other than outright buying Crystal etc

You couldn't do that anymore even if you wanted to, unless you bought the actual GBC cartridge and a suitable Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance/similar device.

I tried looking online but most posts are yeeeears old (As are tutorials)

As far as CFW is concerned, https://3ds.guide is all you need.

However, for someone who's not interested in playing 3DS games, an up-to-date flashcart will serve entirely adequately for Game Boy and DS games. (Not so much GBA games.)

 

[Lacaillex]

I hope she's aware that all 3DS online functionality is shutting down forever in a couple of months? (Well, except for Pokemon Bank.)

Well I guess she'll have to get used to that then lol. In that case, one less thing to worry about!

You couldn't do that anymore even if you wanted to, unless you bought the actual GBC cartridge and a suitable Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance/similar device.

I was looking at doing that, but memory on those old cartridges isn't super reliable. Not something I'd be quick to buy as a gfit second hand, and I didn't own that particular version.

As far as CFW is concerned, " " is all you need.

However, for someone who's not interested in playing 3DS games, an up-to-date flashcart will serve entirely adequately for Game Boy and DS games. (Not so much GBA games.)

Okay, flashcart might work for my purposes then. I'll look into CFW and experiment on my 3DS to see if that might be a future option for her. I heard at least one of the flashcarts has malware, is there a specific one you would recommend?

 

[Kwyjor]

I was looking at doing that, but memory on those old cartridges isn't super reliable.

The "memory" is perfectly reliable; the problem is that it's powered by a watch battery that inevitably drains and has to be replaced regardless of whether the cart is being used. There is ample documentation on the battery replacement process.

A more significant problem you may have noticed is that original Pokemon Crystal cartridges are heckin' expensive.

I heard at least one of the flashcarts has malware, is there a specific one you would recommend?

I suppose that's not entirely inaccurate; there were some problems in the distant past with Gateway flashcarts. But those are expensive and poorly-supported. I am referring to a DS-mode flashcart. Not sure what the best option is these days; the Ace3DS X seems to come up often enough.

 

[Lacaillex]

The "memory" is perfectly reliable; the problem is that it's powered by a watch battery that inevitably drains and has to be replaced regardless of whether the cart is being used. There is ample documentation on the battery replacement process.

A more significant problem you may have noticed is that original Pokemon Crystal cartridges are heckin' expensive.

LOL. Yes, definitely makes this a more attractive option all around.

I suppose that's not entirely inaccurate; there were some problems in the distant past with Gateway flashcarts. But those are expensive and poorly-supported. I am referring to a DS-mode flashcart. Not sure what the best option is these days; the Ace3DS X seems to come up often enough.

I'll take a look at that one. Thanks for the help and clarification! I appreciate it.

 

[Nezha]

My little sister is obsessed with Pokemon and wants to play the older games. I want to make that happen for her but I'm not familiar with the options and she's also very into online functions with her other games. Is there anything I can do other than outright buying Crystal etc that won't risk her getting banned or bricking her device? I tried looking online but most posts are yeeeears old (As are tutorials) and some people swear by one method while another says it causes X problem. Help a girl out?

CFW has become a lot safer over the years. The bricks you're running across are probably from the days when Nintendo was still playing whack-a-mole with modders, but as support waned from the corporation, the 3rd party community had ample time and resources to mature and flourish. Mistakes were made by the hundreds and they all helped rule out the dangerous paths. It's sunny skies from here on out (save the last 'parting shot' Nintendunce did out of pure spite with their last firmware update. I sincerely doubt this will repeat. They're busy with the Switch and all).

Given following the strict instructions from the link provided above, the hack can be done safely and quickly. The only concern I can see is if your sister is in an age group where messing with sensitive files might be inadvisable. At that point, given that and the distance between you two, I'd also have to resign to saying a flashcart is the move. I'd be looking to eventually mod the 3DS however, and keep the cart as an NDS emulator (It'd be a sin to skip on Heart Gold/Soul Silver).

 

[Lacaillex]

CFW has become a lot safer over the years. The bricks you're running across are probably from the days when Nintendo was still playing whack-a-mole with modders, but as support waned from the corporation, the 3rd party community had ample time and resources to mature and flourish. Mistakes were made by the hundreds and they all helped rule out the dangerous paths. It's sunny skies from here on out (save the last 'parting shot' Nintendunce did out of pure spite with their last firmware update. I sincerely doubt this will repeat. They're busy with the Switch and all).

Given following the strict instructions from the link provided above, the hack can be done safely and quickly. The only concern I can see is if your sister is in an age group where messing with sensitive files might be inadvisable. At that point, given that and the distance between you two, I'd also have to resign to saying a flashcart is the move. I'd be looking to eventually mod the 3DS however, and keep the cart as an NDS emulator (It'd be a sin to skip on Heart Gold/Soul Silver).

She's 13 and not very tech-savvy, so....I absolutely agree haha. Last time I had a modded 3DS was about 10 years ago and definitely sounds like things have taken leaps forward since then. I'll probably go the CFW route on mine but cart seems the way for her. Thanks Nezha!

 

[The Real Jdbye]

She's 13 and not very tech-savvy, so....I absolutely agree haha. Last time I had a modded 3DS was about 10 years ago and definitely sounds like things have taken leaps forward since then. I'll probably go the CFW route on mine but cart seems the way for her. Thanks Nezha!

Have you considered having her send you the 3DS so you can hack it?
You would be able to hack it to play GBA+DS+3DS natively without need for a flashcart plus install emulators to run other platforms like SNES/GB/GBC.

 

[Kwyjor]

CFW has become a lot safer over the years. The bricks you're running across are probably from the days when Nintendo was still playing whack-a-mole with modders, but as support waned from the corporation, the 3rd party community had ample time and resources to mature and flourish.

The diminished risk owes much more to the discovery of safer methods than it does to decreased efforts on Nintendo's part.

Mistakes were made by the hundreds and they all helped rule out the dangerous paths. It's sunny skies from here on out (save the last 'parting shot' Nintendunce did out of pure spite with their last firmware update. I sincerely doubt this will repeat. They're busy with the Switch and all).

To be clear, the last update blocked one particularly convenient installation method and had no effect on people who had already installed CFW.

 

[mikefor20]

The "memory" is perfectly reliable; the problem is that it's powered by a watch battery that inevitably drains and has to be replaced regardless of whether the cart is being used. There is ample documentation on the battery replacement process.

A more significant problem you may have noticed is that original Pokemon Crystal cartridges are heckin' expensive.

I suppose that's not entirely inaccurate; there were some problems in the distant past with Gateway flashcarts. But those are expensive and poorly-supported. I am referring to a DS-mode flashcart. Not sure what the best option is these days; the Ace3DS X seems to come up often enough.

Gateway bricked people who were trying to hack the gateway loader. They removed the brick code on the next update. You could trigger it accidentally but it took an idiot to do so. Currently Gateway works again all the way up to current firmware. Gateway is one of 2 fashcarts for 3ds mode. It works well but does require some setup. It also came with a good DS flash card. Works out of the box. If you can find one cheap, not a bad idea . The DS cart is an Acecard clone so it's just fine.

Ninty blocked a lot of the flashcards. You can unblock them if you mod the console.

Supercard Ds Two was the best cart. Not blocked. Had an extra processor to help SNES emulation and such. If you want the best, look no further.

That said, R4 and TT are like $3 on aliexpress. They are blocked so youd need to install a forwarder It's VERY easy.

Look at the 3ds.guide, she can do it. Super simple. Then you have options.

 

[Kwyjor]

Gateway is one of 2 fashcarts for 3ds mode.

I thought there were three? Gateway, Sky, and Stargate?

(Regardless, they're all expensive and offer little advantage compared to a full CFW install.)

They are blocked so youd need to install a forwarder It's VERY easy.

Not sure what you mean by a "forwarder". Those should all work right after installing b9s+Luma.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

The "memory" is perfectly reliable; the problem is that it's powered by a watch battery that inevitably drains and has to be replaced regardless of whether the cart is being used. There is ample documentation on the battery replacement process.

The problem on second Pokémon generation was inclusion of the clock. SRAM is very frugal. My 1980s NES Zelda carts are still on the first batteries. They last literally decades holding the SRAM nonstop.
The clock on the other side needs way more power. Nintendo absolutely knew what they were doing and that it was wrong. Many Game Boy (Color) titles contain CR1616 cells. Pokémon 2nd generation contain CR2025 which have triple(!) the capacity. They didn't include that big thing for no reason. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, stamp on the CR1616 says year 1992 → Still okay. Pokémon lasted between 5 and 8 years on a three times more powerful battery.
They knew they would cause a lot of frustration or even tears with people losing saves of complex games containing a vast amount of randomness in creating saves ("I lost my favorite Pokémon!")

Problem continues on third generation. SRAM has been replaced by 128KB flash which works after the battery is drained. Smaller GBA carts hold are back to the small CR1616 and lose the clock functionality relatively quickly with the game needing to be either deleted to restore clock functionality after battery swap or the save repaired by homebrew software in a DS Lite.

I was looking at doing that, but memory on those old cartridges isn't super reliable. Not something I'd be quick to buy as a gfit second hand, and I didn't own that particular version.

The SRAM on GBC games is very reliable. First games with save feature indeed had some trouble. "Hold in the reset button while turning off the power." on NES Zelda and some others. Repeated turning off/on or abrupt power off could wipe SRAM.
I tried it on GBC games, especially Pokémon Crystal before playing the game (to see if it is reliable). I could never make the game lose or corrupt the save. Even turning off during saving (big no-no!) had no impact.
To finally reach the boarders of reliability I had to resort to using the Game Boy emulator within Pokémon Stadium 2 turning off the power interrupting save progress. Search for Celebi Egg Trick. Only way targeted corruption succeeded (on the 100th attempt).

If you regularly use a second generation Pokémon game you will notice when the battery is on it's way out. The save data will still be there, but the clock will run slower and slower and eventually stop while the Game Boy is off. That is the point where a backup is overdue!

 

[mikefor20]

I thought there were three? Gateway, Sky, and Stargate?

(Regardless, they're all expensive and offer little advantage compared to a full CFW install.)

Not sure what you mean by a "forwarder". Those should all work right after installing b9s+Luma.

Sure 3. But they do offer advantages.
Drag n drop as well as extra storage. Good for noobs. All the drawbacks are gone. Gateway cheats are better too.

Luma isn't much harder to install games but it's not quite drag n drop is it? If someone is concerned about noobness it's an option. Nephews did it at 7 years old so a teen could definately handle that. Plus an extra SD slot is nice. Any issues you delete the 3ds file. No banner bricks. Not bad. Gateway blue is a good DS flash card. It's an Acecard clone and has a modded firmware out there that's very nice. Due to Gatehate I saw a Gateway set for $5 recently shipped. Not a bad option.

I forgot Luma unblocked the carts. Used to use a forwarder to boot blocked carts. I don't play my 3ds much lately. Forwarder still works so force of habit. I got a GBA cart recently so i busted out my old DS. Fun times.

 

[Kwyjor]

Drag n drop as well as extra storage. Good for noobs. All the drawbacks are gone. Gateway cheats are better too.

Luma isn't much harder to install games but it's not quite drag n drop is it? If someone is concerned about noobness it's an option. Nephews did it at 7 years old so a teen could definately handle that. Plus an extra SD slot is nice. Any issues you delete the 3ds file. No banner bricks. Not bad. Gateway blue is a good DS flash card. It's an Acecard clone and has a modded firmware out there that's very nice. Due to Gatehate I saw a Gateway set for $5 recently shipped. Not a bad option.

Doesn't Gateway require the whole setup of an emunand before it will work on current firmware? And doesn't that require a CFW installation to begin with?

 

[mikefor20]

Gateway needs an emunand, yes. Emunand should be used in Luma too if there's any noob concerns.. It's the only way to noob proof. You're bullet proof in EmuNAND. What happens in EmuNAND stays in EmuNAND. Depending on the firmware of the SysNAND CFW may not be technically needed to install GW. Hence the DS cart. Normally Luma would be set up first. It's not like an R4. If someone set it up for her a noob will have no issues installing new games on the GW cart. Installs are a problem for some noobs on Luma. There's no shop. FBI is easy but I have helped plenty of people who can't handle installing and managing CIA installs or banner bricked. EmuNAND FTW again! 3ds files are drag and drop. You can swap SDs easily too. It is an option for noobs to install games. I never had anyone ask me for help installing games on the GW cart. That's all.


I'm just presenting facts and options. Im not trying to influence anyone. Although that's been the trend around here for years. GW is still an option. If you're choosing between a TT/R4.or a Gateway set for the same price get the GW set. It has the same DS functionality and additional capabilities. Love the cheat engine.

Post automatically merged: Nov 6, 2023

Its easy to setup

https://gbatemp.net/threads/setting-up-gateway-luma3ds-on-11-17-guide.640070/